Some Kind of Crazy
by boswifedeb
Summary: It's back to work after the honeymoon, and Matt, CJ, and Uncle Roy have their hands full dealing with the mysterious death of man Matt met through and earlier case. Just taking the characters out for a spin.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

"Houston Investigations, may I help you?" Chris answered the phone for what seemed like the ten thousandth time. "Yes, Mr. Houston will be back in the office sometime today. I'd be happy to give him a message for you." She took down the caller's information and put it on top of the growing stack that was occupying the right front corner of her desk. Luckily for Houston, the majority of the calls were to congratulate him on the wedding. Chris looked up as the elevator doors opened.

"Well, I don't see what's so wrong with the lamp, CJ. I mean, it's been around a long time. It's reliable, kinda like a broken-in pair of jeans." Houston and CJ walked out of the elevator hand in hand.

"Which brings up another subject: have you noticed what's in your closet? Really, Matt, you need to go through some of that stuff." CJ looked over at Chris and winked. "I bet you've still got clothes in there that you had in high school." The look on Houston's face gave away the fact that he did indeed. The two women laughed at him.

The phone rang again. "Houston Investigations, may I help you?" Chris answered again. "Hold on, he's right here." She handed the phone to Matt.

"Houston…" A concerned look spread across his face. "Now slow down. Where are you? … Okay, just stay put and I'll be there in about ten minutes." He gave CJ a peck on the cheek and went back to the elevator. "Call you soon as I can. Love you." The elevator doors closed and he was gone.

"Looks like we're jumping right back into work with both feet." CJ shook her head and headed for her office with Chris following close behind.

"So how was Tahiti? Did you like the place he bought?" Chris was referring to the resort that Houston had bought as a wedding present to CJ. They had spent the majority of their honeymoon there, except for the last four days that they had spent in Hawaii with the Novelli family.

"It was absolutely gorgeous!" CJ had a big smile on her face. "Of course, it was a few days before we actually got around to taking a tour of it."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Matt was driving west on Santa Monica Boulevard and had just passed the San Diego Freeway. Joel Anthony had sounded extremely shaken when he called. He told Houston that he couldn't talk where he was and needed his help.

As he passed Purdue Avenue, Matt moved into the left lane. The library was just ahead. Turning into the parking lot, he saw five police cars and an ambulance. He pulled into an empty space and got out of his truck. Looking up, he saw Lt. Michael Hoyt approaching him.

"Just like I always said: lousy p.i.'s are like lightning rods." Nowadays, Hoyt said these words with a smile. Matt remembered when they had first met and how the detective had given him the run-around every time their paths crossed. The two friends shook hands. "Nice tan you got there. Have a good time in Tahiti?"

Matt just smiled. "Perfect. But this doesn't look so perfect here. I'm supposed to be meeting with…"

"Let me guess: Joel Anthony."

"Yeah, how did you know?" Matt followed Hoyt across the parking lot.

"Because Mr. Anthony is now deceased. Your track record is not improving, p.i.." They made it to the crime scene tape and walked under it. Lying in a pool of blood next to a silver Lexus was Joel Anthony. The body was riddled with bullet holes. "He called the office a little while ago and I told him that I'd meet him here." Matt just shook his head. "He was shook up. Sounded scared and said he needed my help." He knelt down and took a closer look at the fatal wounds. "Got any leads?"

"A couple of senior citizens were just leaving and saw the whole thing. One says it was a black SUV." Hoyt looked at the notes he had taken so far.

"What about the other one?" Matt stood back up and looked around then walked a few feet to where there were numerous shell casings on the ground.

"He's not talking. Suffered a fatal heart attack and died right there on the sidewalk." He gestured with his head toward the ambulance. Matt saw the paramedics gathering up their equipment. "So how did you know Mr. Anthony?"

Houston walked back to join Hoyt and both men walked toward the door of the library. "He was involved in a case I had a couple of years ago. Industrial espionage. His boss suspected that he was the reason for company secrets getting out, or so he said. As it turned out, the boss just needed a scapegoat to cover up the fact that he was double crossing his partners, and Anthony was handy."

"Well, since you're here and already have knowledge of our victim, guess you can "consult" the department on this case. Just remember to keep me in the loop. Okay?" Hoyt reached into his pocket for a pack of antacids.

"You know, if you would eat yogurt like I told you, you wouldn't be needing those things." With that, Matt turned and headed to his truck.

"Nobody likes a smart aleck!" Hoyt called out after him.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Stepping off the elevator when he got back to the office, Houston walked into the main office past the hot tub, then used the seat of the couch for a step and plopped down in front of Baby, the computer that was used in his investigations. He brought up the keyboard and began entering information into the search engine.

"So I take it we have a new case?" CJ asked as she came out of her office and joined him on the couch in front of Baby.

"Yep, we've also got a dead client." He brought CJ up to speed on what had happened.

"So he didn't give you any idea what the problem was?" She got up and went over to the bar to pour both of them coffee, then brought the cups back to the couch.

"Nope, just said he needed my help and wasn't able to talk." He sat back on the couch and sipped the coffee as he thought about how to proceed. "According to Baby, he got divorced from his wife a little over a year ago. Interesting tidbit about her: she was the step-daughter of his former boss."

"You mean the one that tried to frame him for industrial espionage?" CJ tucked her legs up under her.

"That's the one. I'm thinking she's a good place to start. She's now working as an exotic dancer at a bar called "Tigris" over on Wilshire Boulevard. Looks like her standard of living dropped when they got divorced, huh?" He put his arm around her and pulled her closer.

CJ reached up and kissed him. "Don't enjoy yourself at that strip club." She smiled up at him. He returned her kiss. "No ma'am, I promise. 'Course it doesn't open up until noon, so maybe in the meantime…" He gave her that devilish smile that made her heart skip a beat. Just then Uncle Roy walked through the door. Matt and CJ both started laughing. "Uncle Roy, you have impeccable timing, as always." Matt smiled at his uncle.

"Well of course I do, boy, years and years of training and experience. Maybe someday you'll be at least half as good as I am." He walked over to the bar and poured a cup of coffee. "So do we have any cases today or should I go play golf?"

"Actually, we could use your years of experience and expertise. We need you to interview Stephanie Hiller, the former wife of our dead client, Joel Anthony." He filled Roy in on the case so far. "Here's the address." Matt jotted down the information on the strip club and handed it to Roy.

"Ah, the Tigris club. Not one of the trendier places for… well, sure, I can do that." He smiled as he turned to go. "I even have time to get in some practice on the driving range before they open." With that he walked to the elevator and hit the button.

CJ just shook her head, then looked back at Matt who was smiling. "Well, now you won't have to worry about me going to the strip club." He turned back to the computer. "According to what I'm seeing here, Anthony's former boss, Warner Keaton is still a resident at the gray bar motel and has another six months left on his sentence. We know he couldn't get out and pull the trigger himself, but maybe he hired somebody?"

"It's a possibility. Where is he?" CJ got up and took the coffee cups to the sink behind the bar and began washing them.

"He's in Lancaster. I'll head that way." Matt got up from the couch and walked over to the bar. He leaned across and gave her a kiss. "Guess that will have to do for now."

"Matt, several folks in that prison would love nothing better than putting you out of commission. Be careful." She reached across the bar and returned his kiss.

"I always am." He turned and walked out of the office.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"So what'll it be, Gramps?" The bartender lit a cigarette as he wiped down the bar.

"Just a little information. Which of these young ladies is Stephanie Hiller?" Roy Houston dusted off the bar stool before having a seat.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna tell you that. No way, Pops. These girls don't want anything to do with customers outside the club. Keep dreaming. Aren't you a little old to be in here anyway?" He was checking the stock of liquors behind the bar.

"Well, my friend and I would be happy for your help in this matter." Roy put a fifty dollar bill on the bar. Without directly looking at it, the bartender picked it up and stuffed it into his pocket. "She ain't here yet. Won't be here until 2:00." Roy put another fifty on the bar. "I'd appreciate it if you would point her out to me when she arrives." The bartender grunted and nodded his head.

Matt drove northeast toward the prison in Lancaster. His mind drifted back to his and CJ's honeymoon and he smiled as he thought of the look on her face when he told her he had bought the resort. He planned on visiting at least once a year for their anniversary. _More often than that would be okay, too _he thought to himself with a laugh. After the nearly seventy mile trip, he got out of his truck and stretched. He hadn't missed the traffic of Los Angeles at all while they had been on their honeymoon.

After going through security, he was taken to the visitation room. He sat down at the cubicle that the guard had assigned him to and waited for Keaton to be brought in. After half an hour, Houston approached one of the guards to ask what the delay was and overheard the prison's radio traffic: there was a dead inmate in cell block C.

"Do you know the name of the inmate?" Houston asked the guard.

"Yeah, number 477865 – name of Warner Keaton. What's it to ya?"

"After all Houston, not everyone is as fond of p.i.'s as yours truly." Hoyt snickered as he poured himself another cup of coffee and the two headed back toward Hoyt's office.

"Funny, real funny. Would you just hold off on the humor and see if you can find out anything? The warden up at Lancaster wouldn't tell me diddly. It's not even 4PM and two people that I've been about to talk to today have died." Matt was clearly agitated.

"Sure. You'll know something when I do." Hoyt reached into his pocket again for more antacids.

"You might want to cut back on the coffee. And don't forget the yogurt!" Houston added this last little bit of information just as the elevator doors closed.

Matt and Roy made it back to the office at the same time and sat down at the poker table with CJ to go over what they had learned about the case so far.

"It sounds like Uncle Roy is having a lot more luck than you are when it comes to interviewing folks, Matt." CJ stifled a chuckle. "Not luck at all, my dear, just pure talent." Roy patted her hand as he said it. Matt just shot the two of them a disgusted look. "Are y'all planning on going on a comedy tour with Hoyt by any chance?" He got up and started pacing around the office.

"So basically all you got out of Stephanie Hiller was that Anthony couldn't get past the fact that her step dad had set him up and that was the reason for the divorce? Did she seem believable?" He sat back down at the table and started shuffling a deck of cards.

"I don't know." Roy got serious. "She didn't show any obvious signs of deception, but I've just got a feeling…"

Matt knew enough to trust his uncle's instincts. "Okay, so let's say she's lying. Who can we talk to and find out more information on her? I can't seem to get a line on Mrs. Barbara Keaton, Stephanie's mother. She seems to have disappeared off the radar screen." He got up and paced some more.

"What about Keaton's former partners? Do we know anything about them?" CJ added.

"Not much, but that looks like the logical place to start tomorrow. Anybody else ready for a steak?" Matt walked back over to the table.

"No, thanks, Matt. I've got a date with a certain young lady that I met this afternoon. If you'll excuse me…" With that he stood up, gave CJ a peck on the check and headed for the elevator.

"And we've got a date with cleaning out your closet." CJ wasn't going to let him off the hook on that one.

"And to think you wanted me to get rid of this stuff." Matt was smiling at CJ, who was wearing one of his high school football jerseys. They had started sorting through stuff in the walk-in closet and gotten sidetracked when she found his jerseys. They ended up ordering a pizza and were sitting in the floor of the closet talking about things that had happened in their high school days. He leaned forward and kissed her, gently brushing the hair away from her cheek. "You should have been wearing that back then. If I hadn't been so stupid, you would have."

"It wasn't just you. We both finally wised up. And I'm sure glad we did." She climbed up into his lap and started feeding him pizza. Before they knew it, the pizza and beer had been forgotten and so had the clothes in the closet.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"Good morning." Chris handed Matt a stack of messages that had already been left that morning.

"CJ and I stopped and got some of those bear claws and éclairs that you like, Chris." He waved the box under her nose, then set out for the bar in the office. CJ was already pouring coffee for the three of them.

"Hope you've still got some left for me." Uncle Roy rounded the corner of the office and CJ filled another coffee cup. "By the way, I'm going to put in for some overtime. I had a nice little talk with the young lady that I went out with last night. She filled me in on all kinds of good information about Stephanie Hiller."

"I'm sorry I doubted your motives, Uncle Roy." Matt had a mischievous little grin on his face. "What did you find out?"

"The intriguing Miss Hiller seems to be full of surprises. My lady friend was telling me about the real reason for her divorce from Joel Anthony. It seems that she and her step-dad, Warner Keaton, had more than a father-daughter relationship." He took a bite of the bear claw.

"Well, now that does throw a different light on things." Houston had polished off one bear claw and was reaching for another. "What about Hiller's mother, Mrs. Keaton?"

"She divorced Keaton as soon as she found out about Stephanie's – uh, activities." Roy picked up an éclair.

"I don't suppose she gave you any clue on how to find the former Mrs. Keaton. I was looking yesterday and haven't been able to find a trace of her." Matt poured himself some more coffee.

"Actually, Miss Peaches told me that she was in a private mental hospital in Ocean Park. I'm not sure how easy it will be to visit her. But I'm sure we can think of something." He winked at Matt.

"Mr. Abercrombie? Mr. Murdoch will see you now." The receptionist smiled at Houston.

"Jolly good." Houston's British accent had taken a little work to get back in swing. It had been quite a while since he had needed to use such a ruse in an investigation. He followed the receptionist's directions and entered a posh office filled with paintings. Matt didn't know a lot about art, but he was sure they weren't cheap. A tall thin gentleman stood and walked around the large ornate desk to greet him.

"Reginald Abercrombie, pleased to meet you." Houston shook the administrator's hand.

"Charles Murdoch, Mr. Abercrombie. It's a pleasure to meet you. What can we do for you today?" The man directed Matt to a chair and returned to his seat behind the desk.

"I am looking for a reputable facility in which to place my uncle. He has been very forgetful lately, and quite frankly, I'm worried that he will bring disgrace to the family name if he isn't uh, - helped. I'm sure you understand." He gave a tight smile to Mr. Murdoch.

"Why, of course. Would you like a tour of our facility? I assure you we hire only the finest staff. Please follow me." Murdoch led him out of the office and stopped to inform his receptionist that he would be escorting Mr. Abercrombie on a tour. Just then Roy came around the corner in top hat, tails, boxer shorts, and a pair of tennis shoes. After spouting a few insults and curses at Matt, he took off down the hallway. Mr. Murdoch and his receptionist both ran after him. Matt took the opportunity to look up Mrs. Keaton's name and room number on the receptionist's computer and check the directory to see what part of the complex her room was in, then followed the other three down the hall.

When Roy saw Matt catch up to them he slowed down so that he could be caught. Two orderlies were called to assist the elder Mr. Abercrombie and make sure that he was comfortable in a conference room, while Matt and Murdoch continued on their tour.

"I'm sure that you can see now why I am in need of your assistance." Matt was having a hard time keeping a straight face as he talked to the administrator.

"I fully understand, Mr. Abercrombie." He led Houston down another corridor. Matt knew that Mrs. Keaton's room was near the solarium that they had just entered. He hit the call button on his cell phone, causing Uncle Roy's phone to vibrate and give him his cue.

Roy had pretended to be dozing and the orderlies had left his side and were looking out a window at the grounds. When his phone vibrated in his coat pocket, Roy got up, snuck to the door, then let out with another string of curses and the chase was on again. As he ran past the receptionist's desk, she paged Mr. Murdoch, who left Matt in the solarium.

As he made his way up the hall, Matt could hear Uncle Roy and smiled. _The old boy is still full of tricks _he thought to himself. Then he spied Mrs. Keaton's room. He looked around. The hallway was empty, so he quietly opened the door. Mrs. Keaton was sitting in a chair by the window and turned to look at him when she heard the door. When she saw that he wasn't a staff member, she ran to him and begged for help to escape.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

"Aw, c'mon Hoyt! The poor woman is being held captive in there! She's not any crazier than you or me." Matt and Roy were in Hoyt's office and were not having an easy time persuading him to help them free Mrs. Keaton.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you two are fully qualified to determine if someone is sane." He apparently hadn't enjoyed the story of how Matt had been able to find Mrs. Keaton thanks to Roy's escapades.

"So help us get someone who is qualified to check her out." Matt was pacing around the office trying to come up with some kind of plan to free the lady. "Look, what about one of the department's psychiatrists? Could we get one of them to see her?"

"Okay, p.i., how are we going to do that? It's private property and we don't have enough cause for a warrant. What do you suggest? Send Roy back through in his top hat again?" He had secretly enjoyed the story that Matt and Roy had told him, but knew better than to laugh out loud at it: it might have encouraged the duo even further.

"Tell you what. If you two can talk one of the psychiatrists into it, AND get them in without causing a riot, then I'll help you." He sat down and reached into his pocket for antacid tablets.

"You still haven't tried the yogurt have you?" Matt shook his head.

"OUT! OUT! RIGHT NOW!" Hoyt looked like he was going to explode at any moment, so Roy and Matt made a beeline for the hallway.

"Okay, so now we go downstairs and see if we can get someone in the psych department to help us out." Matt pushed the button for the elevator as he tried to decide which psychiatrist was most likely to help them. "I believe our best bet is Janice Morrison. She's been around long enough to be able to have a little pull and she doesn't mind bending the rules on occasion." He looked at Uncle Roy. "But we may need you to use some of your charm on her. She's got a crush on you, ya know."

A short time later they were sitting across the desk from Janice Morrison, a short fiftyish year old lady. She was openly flirting with Roy, which was just fine with Matt.

"So, Roy, what is your plan to get me in to see this Barbara Keaton?" She looked like she might jump across the desk at any time and devour him.

"Well, I thought maybe an inspection tour might do the trick. The Department of Human Services might be good." Roy played along with the game that was afoot. After all, he had worked as a spy for the CIA. It really wasn't much different.

"I should be able to pull that off. When are we going?" She fluffed her hair and batted her eyes at him.

"Why, the sooner the better, don't you think, my dear?" Roy was really playing it to the hilt.

Matt just sat back and watched the master at work. He was enjoying the show.

"Well of course, Mrs. Morrison, we're more than happy to accommodate your schedule." Mr. Murdoch looked somewhat taken aback by the surprise visit from the inspection committee, which consisted of Janice Morrison and her assistant Miss Tutwiler, who was actually a bespectacled CJ. Both women were wearing transmitters which Matt and Roy were monitoring outside in a van.

"First I'd like to tour the facility. I must say, it is the most spacious that it's been my pleasure to inspect." _Ole Janice might just have a future as a private investigator,_ Matt thought to himself, _or at least on a soap opera!_

"Of course. We have a solarium that is particularly beautiful." Murdoch couldn't help noticing how Miss Tutwiler was batting her eyes at him.

As the trio made their way through the facility, CJ made sure to grab hold of Murdoch's elbow and allowed him to show her its many amenities. As they reached the hallway where Barbara Keaton's room was located, CJ made a request to tour the solarium again, while Mrs. Morrison excused herself, saying she needed to use the restroom. Murdoch happily pointed her in the proper direction and started off with CJ, who by this time was pretending to hang on his every word, while Janice entered Barbara Keaton's room and proceeded to interview her.

"Kinda played it up with Murdoch, didn't you, CJ?" Matt was giving her a hard time about her Miss Tutwiler act. "And there you were telling me not to have a good time when you thought I was going to the strip club yesterday." He looked over at her and grinned.

"Not nearly the same thing, Matt." She smiled back at him. "It really did work out good, though. They sure let Mrs. Keaton out in a jiffy when they found out who Janice was."

"I really am going to have to pay Uncle Roy some overtime, or combat pay. He's got a date with Janice." Matt snickered as he followed the van that Uncle Roy was driving. Both Janice and Mrs. Keaton were riding with Roy back to the office. "I'm just curious as to who was behind having Mrs. Keaton committed. It could solve this whole case for us. Or at least point us in the right direction."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

"I just don't know how I can ever thank you enough, all of you." Barbara Keaton was sitting on the couch in the office and had been telling how she had been drugged and committed by her daughter, Stephanie.

"So you think she was in cahoots with your former husband's partners, Jake Lawrence and Alistair Simms. Do you have any proof?" Matt poured her another cup of coffee.

"Yes, I do. I found out that she not only had a – relationship - with my husband, but with Jake Lawrence as well. The two of them concocted the whole scheme after Warner refused to give Stephanie a cut of his profits from double crossing his partners. I found a tape Stephanie made of herself and Lawrence discussing their plan. I gave it to a friend to hold for me, just in case." Barbara stood and walked to the window that looked out over the city. "Stephanie was always troubled as a child. Her father was a wealthy man. But no matter what she had, she always wanted something more. She was never happy with what she had. I suppose I spoiled her after he died."

"Why is she working as a stripper if she has control of your estate?" Houston poured himself more coffee.

"The estate hasn't been transferred over to her just yet, all the legal hoops and all." Mrs. Keaton sat back down on the couch.

"And I'll bet she had other plans for you when the transfer was complete." Matt exchanged a knowing look with Roy and CJ. "One thing about it, if we can get them to confess, she won't be spoiled where she's going."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Hoyt had Stephanie Hiller in one interrogation room, Jake Lawrence in one across the hall, and Alistair Simms in the one next to Lawrence. Matt made sure that the door was open as Lawrence and Simms were led into the rooms. When Stephanie saw the two of them she panicked and started raging. By the time it was over with, both men had named Stephanie as the ring leader of the conspiracy. She was going down in flames.

Jake Lawrence admitted that he had agreed to help Stephanie have her mother committed so that she wouldn't get in the way of their plan to gain control of her estate. He also admitted to hearing her hire another inmate at Lancaster Prison to kill her step-father, Warner Keaton. Alistair Simms claimed he was only involved in the murder of Joel Anthony, who had been eliminated to tie up loose ends.

"Not bad, Houston. And to think, all it really took was Roy running around in a top hat and boxer shorts." Hoyt chuckled as he pictured the scene.

"Yep, and now Barbara Keaton is free, and Stephanie and her cronies are locked up. Sometimes things work out the right way." Matt was following Hoyt down the hall to his office. "Well, gotta go, Hoyt. CJ and I have some work to do at the house. Have a good day." He snickered as the elevator doors closed, leaving Hoyt standing there wondering what was so funny.

"Lieutenant, there's a delivery for you in your office. It came while you were interrogating the suspects." Officer Sanchez was headed toward the elevator as he relayed the information.

"Thanks, Sanchez." Hoyt walked into his office and couldn't believe his eyes. Stacked on his desk were four large boxes. "What is this supposed to be – paper clips?" he asked himself as he opened up one of them. What he found was an insulated box – filled with different flavors of yogurt.

"HOUSTON!" he yelled, running down the hall toward the elevator.


End file.
